13 November 2020

It has been amazing to see such an incredible array of activity from all sections of the school over the last five days. It is hard to convey all the wonderful things that go on as part of the school week, from the rigorous preparation that goes into curriculum planning and making the delivery of each and every lesson memorable, to discussions and event planning for end of term Christmas events. It certainly has been very busy and the infectious buzz and levels of energy exhibited by pupils and staff has been exhilarating!

I have really enjoyed hearing from pupils in Junior and Senior School about some of the projects they have been working on. I was particularly envious of Year 5, who have been learning all about the great explorer, Ernest Shackleton. Having written their own application letters to become part of Shackleton’s crew, the pupils were incredibly fortunate to be able to view some original, handwritten letters, documents and photos from the ‘Endurance’ mission, which were brought in by a Year 5 pupil. I was fortunate enough to also be invited into the classroom to view these documents and was delighted to witness the genuine curiosity and excitement of the form – there are definitely some serious Historians in the making amongst Year 5!

Our virtual events have continued throughout this week with our Year 9 GCSE Options Evening last night and also our Options Fair for Year 9 pupils this morning, where they got to explore the subjects that will be on offer for them at GCSE. This is always an exciting time for Year 9 pupils, as they begin to consider subjects they might like to focus on and begin to take responsibility for shaping their future. It is also an exciting time for us as staff, as we consider the potential of this year group of pupils who are brimming with talent and ability. We look forward to embarking on the next stage of our Year 9’s academic journey with them!

It was also an important week for our current Year 6 pupils and for the many external Year 6 pupils who have selected Cranford House as their choice of Senior School. The current pandemic necessitated an adaptation of our usual process, but did not detract from pleasure that the Senior Leadership Team and I had in interviewing all the Year 6 pupils who are looking to transition to Senior School in September 2021. We were all genuinely overwhelmed by the standard of the interviews and enjoyed talking to each and every Year 6 pupil and look forward to supporting pupils and parents through the transition to Year 7 next year.

Finally, on Wednesday, as a whole school community we marked Remembrance Day, observing the two-minute silence at 11am. Pausing to reflect and pay tribute to all those who have served and lost their lives in conflict, our Senior Leadership Team, Form Captains and Heads of School gathered around the Willow Tree to honour all those who have served in the name of our country. I felt truly humbled and very moved by this event, which felt particularly poignant given the situation we are all currently living through, and encourage any family that hasn’t yet seen the footage of some of our talented Year 7 musicians playing ‘The Last Post’ to do so. As one parent kindly wrote in to say after having watched the video, it was an occasion marked by an ‘atmosphere of thanks and hope’. I couldn’t have put it better myself.

With best wishes
Dr James Raymond